Sharing and celebrating the knowledge, innovation and creativity that is shaping the business world.

Jazz Shapers

Jazz Shapers is presented by Mishcon de Reya's Director of Business Development and former LBC presenter Elliot Moss. During each show, Elliot will be interviewing shapers of the business world, people who, like the musicians in the show, have defied convention and gone on to achieve great success.

Lawfully Chic

A blog for art-lovers and adventurers, fashionistas and culture vultures, who believe in fair play, fair trade and fair travel.

Mayfair Private

Mishcon de Reya has created Mayfair Private to provide private advisory services for a select group of families by bringing together a broad range of highly qualified professionals to seamlessly manage their affairs.

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MDR Lab

A programme open to early stage and growth technology start-ups, whose products or services are applicable to the legal industry.

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The Academy is Mishcon de Reya's in-house place of learning, our driver for growth and a platform for thought leadership. Here we will bring together urgent societal issues and industry experts to deliver innovative thought leadership on issues that matter to us and to our clients.

Mishcon Graduates

The future has never been more unpredictable, demanding or challenging. Never before has there been so much information to absorb, so many social and business networks to navigate, and so many economic, political and social issues to confront. And the role of law has never been more pivotal in all of this.

Mishcon International: Africa

We are proud to launch Mishcon International: Africa - a dedicated microsite featuring curated content most relevant to the audience in the region. This content will be regularly refreshed, taking into account global developments and their impact across Africa.

Mishcon International: Asia

At Mishcon de Reya, we are proud to serve an international community of clients. Based in London, our work is often cross-border and complex. We act as personal advisors, dealing with carefully selected overseas professionals on behalf of our clients. We are experts in preserving, growing and transferring wealth, and our clients in Asia span both the world of corporate and private wealth giving us a unique perspective on the market.

Mishcon International: Eurasia

Mishcon International: Eurasia - a dedicated microsite featuring curated content most relevant to the audience in the region.

Mishcon International: Europe

We are proud to launch Mishcon International: Europe - a dedicated microsite featuring curated content most relevant to the audience in the region.

Mishcon International: Middle East

Mishcon de Reya has now launched Mishcon International: Middle East - a dedicated microsite featuring curated content most relevant to the audience in the region. This content will be regularly refreshed, taking into account global developments and their impact on the Middle East.

Mishcon New York

Mishcon de Reya New York LLP opened in 2010 with a small group of lawyers having two things in common: a proven track record in New York City and a desire to create a new kind of law firm in the city.

Property Shapers

Insights from industry leaders | real estate blog

The Leap Hub

The Leap is an initiative to identify 100 of the most exciting, fast-growing companies in the UK. Keep up to date with events and news about The Leap.

Imagine paying people no strings attached cash, whether they have a job or not. In California, two experiments are being planned that some think could be the solution to a potentially jobless dystopian future.

Imagine paying people no strings attached cash, whether they have a job or not. In California, two experiments are being planned that some think could be the solution to a potentially jobless dystopian future.

Don’t let employment issues be an afterthought

Posted on 14 March 2018 by Sharon Tan

Few entrepreneurs start a business relishing the opportunity to deal with the nitty-gritty of bureaucracy – in fact, avoiding it is the reason many choose the startup life in the first place. But a growing business brings with it complexity, and it is necessary to grapple with some of that ifyou want to win the war for top talent.

The longer employment issues are left untended, the greater the risk to the business. And when the time comes to make senior hires, there is no escaping the importance of having the right documentation in place to protect vital areas of the business.

It is also imperative to put in place the right incentives to attract people with the skills needed to grow and scale the business. Top talent can be demanding – even before they join. Senior hires will often look over the draft contract meticulously. Securing the right people is likely to involve much more than a simple negotiation over base salaries.

It’s vital to be explicit about bonuses - what is guaranteed, what is discretionary, and the basis on which a bonus may potentially be awarded. Employees may also want to renegotiate notice periods. Employees aren’t protected against unfair dismissal until they’ve been in the post for a minimum of two years, so some may want to extend the notice period, thereby giving themselves more of a financial cushion if it doesn’t work out.

However, others will want the opposite, preferring flexibility over security, so founders may themselves want to press for a longer notice period to provide greater stability and certainty.

Restrictive covenants are increasingly considered essential for many businesses, but may be seen as a nuisance for ambitious prospective employees. Entrepreneurs need to be prepared for these discussions, and they need to know where their red lines are drawn, as well as what the courts are likely to enforce, in order to protect their business.

Potential recruits will also be keen to understand when any equity awards will vest, as well as what they will need to do in order to qualify for those and, once vested, retain them.

Ahead of these conversations, entrepreneurs need to think carefully about how much equity they are prepared to invest in securing a critical hire.

The vesting period ought to be tailored so that it dovetails with the business plan and any exit provisions will need to be agreed up front. Entrepreneurs will generally need to have thought through, and drafted, some form of long-term incentive plan which reflects their commercial proposals, so these can be presented to the prospective hire for review.

Any related tax structuring issues should also have been investigated and addressed ahead of time. Along with access to finance, securing talent is one of the top concerns for entrepreneurs. But unlike finance, where entrepreneurs tend to be more scrupulous, many founders put employment issues too far down the to-do-list.

But people are critical to any firm, and securing the right talent at the right time, in the right way, can make or break a fledgling business. As the war for talent heats up, and the challenges of attracting and retaining talent increase, expect this to become the hot issue for all founders.

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